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Fire Districts #1, #2 and #3 the Boone County Board still don’t agree on whether an ordinance should be in place to require all commercial buildings to have sprinkler systems.

But, after meeting June 2, they all agreed to communicate better with one another in the future. Fire chiefs will revisit the so-called “zero tolerance’’ ordinance and bring their findings to the appropriate county committees.

Among those mentioned were public safety, health and human services and zoning. “The chiefs will come back with what they think will work,’’ said attorney Brian O’Connor, representing Districts #2 and #3.

The question of communication was almost immediately placed on the table.

“This was kind of a surprise to everyone,’’ District #2 board member Laura Hart said of the ordinance. “Were there any attempts to have community meetings in your districts to see what people thought about it?’’

District #2 board member Cathy Ward wondered the same thing, asking if it was just the chiefs who made this decision or if others were involved? “This has been bubbling up at meetings for a year now,’’ she added.

While District #1 Fire Chief Greg Holmes answered that no community meetings were held, he assured that he had talked to a lot of people about it, with 50 percent in favor of the ordinance and 50 percent opposed to it. “Would you be willing to have one now?’’ Hunt asked. “Yes,’’ Holmes answered. While the county and fire districts have had communication problems in the past, he said, “It would be nice if the county and fire districts were together on this. We legitimately felt we were doing the right thing.’’

Fire officials remained firm June 2 in their belief that sprinkler systems would save property and lives in Boone County.

Ordinance in the Works Since 2007District #3 Fire Chief Gail Worley said he started working on the ordinance in 2007, when there was a lot of construction in the Poplar Grove area. He said he had a problem with one building owner who promised to put in a sprinkler system but never did. “So I went to the village board; we now have zero tolerance in the village of Poplar Grove.’’

That prompted District #3 board member Terri Glass to question the motivation behind the requirement. She said she was concerned that it came about because Worley was upset with one building owner.

Worley said that was not the case. Other owners, he said, were constructing buildings that were just under the minimum square-footage threshold for a sprinkler.

Cost entered the picture when Belvidere architect Paul Ollmann said there can be financial difficulties “when you have a $50,000 project and a $100,000 sprinkler system. He estimated that a sprinkler system would cost $3 a square foot.

Another architect, Gary W. Anderson, wrote in a letter to the board that “such a requirement is over-reaching and will create a significant financial hardship on everyone.’’ He wrote that the International Building Code used by the county “has very sufficient requirements to provide adequate protection of occupants and buildings. The IBC is very specific as to when a fire protection sprinkler is required.’’

But Holmes countered that most commercial buildings without sprinkler systems that experience a major fire do not rebuild. That leaves a vacant building and people out of work, he said. “Sprinkler systems will stop a fire cold,’’ consultant Bob Olsen said. “It’s designed to save the building and put people back to work.’’

Hunt attempted to temper the differing opinions by explaining the county board’s job is to represent all residents. Members got involved in this issue, she said, “when people came to us saying the ordinance was affecting their ability to make a living. This is a big deal with people.’’